Majority of Brits want to quit EU – poll

Among the six European states participating in the poll questioning EU membership, the British appeared most certain of all that they want to leave the union with only 37 percent against breaking ties.

The French OpinionWay poll showed that 42 percent of British
respondents want to leave the EU, while 37 percent are for
staying in the union and the rest 21 percent are not sure of the
answer, Le Figaro reported on Friday.
Britain’s PM Davis Cameron promised last year to hold a vote on
Europe in a referendum by the end of 2017 if the Conservatives
win the next general election. Cameron has been under domestic
pressure from politicians to quit the EU sooner.

The second place among the six European states surveyed was taken
by the Netherlands with 39 percent for breaking the relationship
with EU and 41 percent of responders against leaving European
partnership.
The least eager ones to say goodbye were the Spanish with 67
percent against the notion and only 17 percent for EU exit.

Among the 3,500 respondents, the French were 22 percent for and
55 against, while the Germans - 22 and 64 respectively. Most of
Italy’s respondents said they would stay in the union – 58
percent, only 30 were against.

Amid the ongoing Eurozone crisis that started in 2009, the member
states have cut government spending to try and reduce their
budget deficits. EU member countries pushed by austerity policing
Germany have been struggling to come out of the crisis.

Last week German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized France and
Italy for taking insufficient reforms to curb spending. “The
European Commission has drawn up a calendar according to which
France and Italy are due to present additional measures"
Merkel said to newspaper Die Welt adding that she agrees with the
commission. In November the EU commission approved two countries'
budgets which guaranteed that they would impose more austerity
measures in 2015.

As oil prices hit new lows below $60, experts say it is going to
be a tough year for the EU next year with Italy’s debt being the
possible trigger, the Business Insider reported.

"Although the emergency phase of fiscal tightening may be
over in the Eurozone, a decade of discipline seems necessary if
defaults are to be avoided with certainty," according to the
consultancy Oxford Economics.